Tiger state MP records death of 27 big cats in 2022, highest in country

Madhya Pradesh, which is known as the tiger state of India, has also earned the dubious distinction of accounting for the highest number of deathS of these majestic striped felines. Till July 15 this year, of the total number of 74 tiger deaths registered in the country, MP alone accounted for 27 of them – highest for any state during this period, the data published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on its website has revealed.

The centrally located state is followed on this front by Maharashtra, which registered 15 deaths during the period. Karnataka comes next with 11 fatalities, Assam five, Kerala and Rajasthan four each, Uttar Pradesh three, Andhra Pradesh two, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh one each, among other states, as per the NTCA figures.

According to officials, territorial fights, old age, ailments, poaching and electrocution are some of the prominent reasons for their deaths.

Madhya Pradesh had regained the coveted tag of being the tiger state of the country in the 2018 census. As per the All-India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, the state was home to 526 tigers, the highest for any state in the country. There are six tiger reserves in the state, namely Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura, Panna and Sanjay Dubri.

Of the 27 tiger deaths this year, nine were males and eight females. In other cases, the gender of the animals was not mentioned in the data. The deceased included adults, sub-adults and cubs.

Tigers live, breed and hunt in forests and they are at the top of the food chain. As apex predators, their presence indicates a healthy and broader ecosystem. Expressing concern over the rising number of tiger deaths, wildlife enthusiast and Right to Information (RTI) activist Ajay Dube told

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